Budget highlight; 15 Braille presses to be established

The Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley presented the new government's first budget today. Though it restrained from bringing in sweeping changes that were expected of it, it did include a few policy tweaks that are bound to affect the print-packaging industry in India.

11 Jul 2014 | By Samir Lukka

Finance minister Arun Jaitley at the parliament before presenting the Budget

The three big things that caught our eye were:

- Government to print currency notes with Braille imprints; 15 new Braille presses to be established.

- MSME sector - 10,000 crore rupee fund by way of attracting further private equity and entrepreneurship friendly bankruptcy laws to facilitate easy exit

- Plans to provide investment allowance at 15% for three years to manufacturing company which invest more than Rs 25-crore in plant and machinery.

Some of the headlines in the Finance Minister's speech:

- Print media to continue to be exempted from Service Tax

- Huge boost to SME sector expected

- Retrospective amendments to tax laws

- GST contours may be finalised this year

- PPF, 80C limits raised for taxpayers

- Investment in 100 Smart Cities

- Education cess to continue at 3%

- Rs 200 cr set aside for setting up 6 more textile clusters

- Outer harbour project in Tuticorin (and five ports) to be developed

- Proposes Rs.5,000 crore for warehousing capacity; Rs.10,000 crore of private capital for start-up companies

- Rs.37,800 crore of investment in national and state highways

- To establish Export Promotion Mission

- 20 new industrial clusters to be set up